OpenClaw History: From Warelay to Foundation

Peter Steinberger started the project on November 24, 2025 as Warelay. It became CLAWDIS on December 3, 2025, Clawdbot on January 2, 2026 and Moltbot on January 27, 2026 after a trademark issue, then OpenClaw shortly after. The project grew extremely quickly, briefly becoming one of the fastest-rising repositories on GitHub, and passed about 394,000 stars by November 2026.

Name changes and governance#

On February 14, 2026, Steinberger announced he was joining OpenAI and that a non-profit OpenClaw Foundation would be established to steward the project. openclaw.ai now describes the Foundation as an independent US 501(c)(3) that employs the core team and signs every release. The submitted draft dates its establishment to July 2026; we could not confirm that date. OpenClaw 2.0 shipped on August 30, 2026.

The rapid name changes and governance shift are important context when evaluating long-term stability. The Foundation structure is designed to keep the project open and independent regardless of any single company's involvement.

Today OpenClaw is a self-hosted assistant across 20+ chat apps (what OpenClaw is).

Sources & Further Reading#

Claim / Topic	Source	Date
Name history, Steinberger joining OpenAI, Foundation announcement	Wikipedia: OpenClaw	Read 2026-11-03
OpenClaw 2.0 (August 30, 2026)	OpenClaw blog	2026-08-30
Foundation as independent 501(c)(3)	openclaw.ai	Read 2026-11-03

Frequently asked questions

What is the history of OpenClaw?

OpenClaw began as Warelay, a project Peter Steinberger started on November 24, 2025. It was renamed CLAWDIS, Clawdbot and Moltbot before becoming OpenClaw in early 2026. Steinberger joined OpenAI in February 2026, the OpenClaw Foundation took over stewardship, and OpenClaw 2.0 shipped on August 30, 2026.

Who created OpenClaw?

Peter Steinberger created the project in November 2025. He announced on February 14, 2026 that he was joining OpenAI and that a non-profit OpenClaw Foundation would steward the project.

Why did OpenClaw change its name so often?

The project moved through Warelay, CLAWDIS, Clawdbot and Moltbot, the last change after a trademark issue, before settling on OpenClaw. The churn is worth knowing when judging long-term stability.